11
a smaller and more technologically
equipped environment. It has been
designed so that the owners can easily lock
it up during their frequent travels. While
this is quite a different type of house, the
use of natural exterior cladding materials
and a variety of internal finishes draws
points of consistency with the others
mentioned here.
The Nolan House was described by the
architects as a mashup of Berkley Dobson
House and House 3, and looking at the
plan, this description seems apt. Once
again an iteration and refinement of the
unique Coy Yiontis central-pool-courtyard
house type, Nolan House also extends
behind a historic remnant, in this instance
aFederation-stylehome.Thevistaswithin
this Middle Park residence are distinctlyMiesian and slabs of travertine further
reinforce this impression.
Perhaps the most striking thing about
the practice’s catalogue is the consistency
in aesthetics, quality and a sense of
minimal simplicity that pervades and
links its projects. The houses appear as if
they are all recent, such is their sense of
timelessness, which I suspect is a direct
result of the consistent application of
formal and material restraint. These
houses have aged very well.
In speaking with Rosa and George, I
hear references to Le Corbusier’s planning
at one point, and Ludwig Mies van der
Rohe’s formal and spatial geometry
at another. Both are pertinent when
skimming the surface of the Coy Yiontis
oeuvre. However, despite these references,the aesthetic product of the practice is
consistently of its own refined, understated
style. If the architects wear their referents
on their sleeves, they do so only lightly.
The future for Coy Yiontis is an
open question, but one that is answered
emphatically in the affirmative by the cry
of “more houses.” Recently, Rosa, George
and their team have been executing
more commercial work, retail as well as
residential. Over time this will present
fresh challenges, but in my estimation the
architectural language and style forged
over more than two decades has room
within its grammar and lexicon to inform
commercial architecture just as well as
domestic. I look forward to seeing where
theytakeitall.
coyyiontis.com.au2016Nolan House
- MELBOURNE, VIC •